Hello, everyone! I apologize for the long wait, but I have returned!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus or its characters. I also do not own Stranger Things.

"Maybe we should ask Will's mom," Mike suggested. "We heard her on the radio."

"Oh, yeah? What are we going to tell her?" Lucas questioned. "Hello, Mrs. Byers, we know your son is alive and we know you were talking to him because our super-powered, weirdo somewhat friend, who is apparently on the run from Bad Men, used his powers to channel Will?" he stated, sarcastically.

Dustin shrugged. "He does have a point. Even I would think that sounded weird. Heck, if we weren't there, I wouldn't believe it."

Mike sighed before turning to Evan, who was lying on the couch and trying to avoid drifting off. "Evan, do you know where Will is?"

"Upside Down," Evan answered.

"What is that?" Lucas asked, frustrated with the vague answer.

"It's a bad place," Evan answered.

"But where is it?" Lucas growled, irritated and wanting a straight answer from the weirdo for once.

"Here," Evan replied. "But you can't see it."

"What are you-" Lucas began.

"Another dimension," Dustin realized with a snap of his fingers as the pieces clicked into place.

"What?" Mike asked, bewildered by the seemingly random statement.

"Think about it. We can't see Will, but we can hear him and communicate with him through radios and walkie-talkies, but there's a lot of static, so much you can barely understand him, like Will's voice is traveling over worlds and not just miles. And when we asked Eleven where Will was the first time, he flipped the board upside down," Dustin said with a proud smile as he figured it out. "And now, he's telling us that this Upside Down is here, but we can't see it."

"Here but not here at the same time," Mike said as what Dustin was saying finally began to make sense.

"What are you two talking about?" Lucas demanded.

The three boys sat at the card table that held their board game, and Mike began to explain:

"There's a theory that several dimensions exist on the same plane, but you can't see them, and each dimension is different from the others. Well, what if the Upside Down is like Hawkins, but different? Opposite?"

"Upside down," Lucas repeated as he began to see the answers they were seeing.

"Yes," Mike responded before tapping on the board game. "What if this is Hawkins?" Mike flipped the board upside down so that the pitch black underside was facing up. "And this is the Upside Down? Where Will is?"

Lucas turned to Evan. "Do you know how to get to the Upside Down?"

Evan pondered the question before answering with a shake of his head. Technically, he knew how to get there. The Gate. But it was far too dangerous, and as much as Evan wanted to save Will, what was the point if his new friends died the minute they stepped into the Upside Down? Then they'd be losing four lives and not just one. They weren't that desperate. Yet.

Lucas sighed. "Of course, he knows everything about the Upside Down except how to get there!"

"Don't be so hard on him," Mike admonished. "He's helped us a lot. If it wasn't for him, we would still be mourning Will instead of looking for him."

Lucas shrugged. "I guess you're right, but we barely know anything about this place. We don't know how to get there. We don't know how long Will can survive there. We barely know anything. It's like every time we find an answer, another question comes up."

"Trust me," Dustin muttered. "We know."

"And what about those voices we heard at the end?" Mike asked, turning to Evan. "Do you know who they were?"

Evan shook his head. "Heard them before," he stated, "but I don't know who they are."

They said something about Texas, Evan remembered, and he wanted to go there and find that kid and get some answers, but he couldn't leave his friends when the danger was at its worst.

Evan didn't remember much about who he was before the lab, but he knew that he wasn't the type of person that would abandon his friends when they needed him the most.

Eleven lounged on his makeshift bed in Mike's basement; the three boys were currently attending a funeral for Will and intended to ask their science teacher about other dimensions. Eleven wasn't sure how much insight the teacher could offer; after all, Papa barely knew anything about the Upside Down, and he had hundreds of scientific resources at his finger tips.

Eleven was more focused on the voices, the people he'd channeled… Nico and Hazel. Especially Nico.

Eleven could almost see the memory, but it barely brushed his fingertips every time he reached for it. He remembered shaggy black hair and a jacket and a lot of black. By those few things, Eleven thought Nico was probably emo, and it sounded right, but Eleven still couldn't remember anything else about Nico or Hazel or Texas or the other voices or any of it!

Something was blocking his memories, and every time Eleven managed to grab hold of one, his head would threaten to split open with a burning agony.

Eleven rubbed his forehead and eyes, trying to ease the pain and wondering if retrieving his memories was worth the migraine that followed.

Eleven stood and was about to try channeling Will on Mike's radio again when there was a thunderous boom from outside.

Eleven knew he shouldn't have gone outside, but something told him that he had to, so he took small steps towards the door and wrapped his fingers around the doorknob.

What he saw outside Mike's house made his jaw drop.

A monster. A beast ten times the size of Eleven with shaggy black hair and tusks as big as Eleven's whole body. It smelled like rotting meat and was wearing nothing except for a gigantic pair of Fruit Of Looms.

The Minotaur, a small voice in the back of his head supplied, but Eleven wasn't sure how he knew that.

There was no one else around; Eleven was surprised the roar the Minotaur gave didn't draw the whole neighborhood out, but that might have been because, unlike Eleven, these people made the smart decision and stayed away from the frightening sounds of the monster instead of going to see what it was.

Eleven wasn't sure what to do, but he didn't have time to put together a plan as the Minotaur charged right at him.

Eleven's instincts kicked into gear, instincts he didn't even know he had, and he sidestepped, watching as the monster barreled past him and got its tusks stuck an inch deep in the wall of Mike's house.

Eleven held out his hand and watched in shock as a fiery ball the size of his head materialized out of thin air and hit the Minotaur right on its behind.

Eleven stared at his hands in astonishment. He knew he could create fire, but he didn't know he could create such an intense fire, much less throw a ball of fire as easily as he would throw a baseball.

"ROAR!"

Eleven's head jerked up, and he watched as the now free and angry Minotaur stormed towards him.

Eleven fired off another ball of flame, hitting the Minotaur directly in the rib cage; he watched as the monster fell to one knee with a whimper before letting lose another rage filled bellow. The fire could harm it, but the small balls of flame Eleven shot at it wouldn't kill it.

Eleven needed a solution and fast.

Eleven tripped over his heels as the monster charged him again, and he fell on his back while the monster continued to sprint towards him, the earth shaking under its heavy weight.

Instinct took over, and Eleven's arm wrapped around a piece of broken fence before thrusting it into the Minotaur's chest. The monster stumbled back with a yelp, not dead but wounded, and Eleven used the monster's distraction as an opportunity to climb the monster (which was much easier since the monster had fallen to the ground and was now sitting on the grass. It still towered over Eleven but not as much as when it was standing). He stood on the monster's shoulder and stabbed the broken piece of fence into the monster's neck; the small boy watched as the monster dissolved into nothing but golden dust. Eleven hit the ground hard and wound up rolling in the golden dust, which greatly disgusted him, but he was too tired to care as he climbed to his feet on shaky legs.

Eleven wandered back inside, dropping the dust-coated piece of fence in the trashcan outside the back door, and after checking to make sure the house was indeed empty, he took a quick shower to wash the dust away before shaking the golden substance off of his clothes and getting dressed.

Eleven laid down on his makeshift bed, exhausted, and nearly drifted off to sleep, immediately, but one thing kept him awake:

Eleven had expected The Lab to send Bad Men after him. The Bad Men may have guns or other weapons; Eleven wouldn't have been surprised if The Lab sent people like Eleven, people with powers, after him. Eleven was sure there were more test subjects. He was Test Subject Eleven, which meant there had to be at least ten more test subjects. Papa made it seem like there were other people and experiments like Eleven- both successes and failures- but there was something about Eleven that made him different. Special. Eleven had questioned it in the beginning, but after Papa basically told him it was none of his business and to back off (not in those exact words, of course), Eleven had abandoned his curiosity on the subject. Now it was back with full force.

Eleven had expected Bad Men, other test subjects… but monsters? That was the one thing Eleven thought he didn't have to worry about.

Maybe the monster wasn't from The Lab, at all. Maybe it was from the Upside Down. Eleven did feel connected to it in some way, but it wasn't like his connection with the Monster, the one he'd seen in the Upside Down when he'd accidentally opened the Gate. This was different.

Maybe the monster was from The Lab. Maybe the monster- the Minotaur, his mind remembered- was some kind of experiment the scientists had conducted. Maybe it was a genetically modified animal, but Eleven thought he would've known there was a monster in The Lab. The Lab was big and Eleven hadn't even seen all of it, but it wasn't big enough that Eleven would be able to miss the fact that there was an actual monster within the walls of The Lab.

That hypothesis was plausible, and yet… it didn't feel right.

Eleven's exhaustion outweighed everything on his mind as he slipped into slumber.

He was standing in front of a house. A familiar one with neatly trimmed rose bushes and a beautiful garden and an overall perfect appearance, but the woman that opened the door ruined the perfect image.

Eleven could see some similarities between him and her, such as their skin tone and their curly brown hair, but that's where the similarities ended. She had a gigantic mole on her cheek, and her face might have been decent looking if it wasn't pulled into an ugly scowl.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"Um, hello, are you Rosa Santiago?"

Eleven turned and found a boy dressed in an aviators jacket, ripped black jeans, and a black T-shirt standing beside him. He was around thirteen with shaggy raven locks and extremely pale skin. His eyes were a deep brown, almost black, and they were the most vulnerable part of his appearance because unlike his dark, tough guy look, his eyes showed his true worry and exhaustion and sadness… but not just any sadness. Grief. And maybe- just maybe- a little bit of hope.

Nico, Eleven realized, recognizing the voice.

"I am," the woman replied.

"My name is Nico, I'm a friend of your nephew's," Nico began.

Rosa visibly stiffened. "I don't have a nephew," she stated, trying to slam the door in his face.

Nico smacked his hand on the door, holding it open, and any politeness vanished from his face, replaced by anger, irritation, and determination.

"Look. Your nephew is missing, presumed dead, but I think he's alive. You may not care about your nephew, but other people do. All I need to know is if you've seen him or heard from him within the past few months," Nico demanded.

Rosa snorted. "I haven't seen or heard from him or about him since he was eight years old. If I never hear from him again, it'll be too soon. And if he is dead… good riddance," she growled before slamming the door with a thunderous boom. Eleven heard picture frames fall off the walls inside.

Nico sighed as he came face to face with a dead end.

"Nico?" Eleven whispered. He knew Nico couldn't see or hear him, but he felt the need to say the name aloud, as if simply saying the name would bring back his memories. He knew Nico couldn't see or hear him, and that's why he was so surprised when Nico spun around to face him, but he didn't appear to be seeing Eleven. He was looking right through him, but he was looking around, searching for the source of Eleven's voice.

He said something, but it was muted. It looked like a name, a short one, and Eleven vaguely wondered if the word Nico had said had been his name before The Lab.

If only he could have heard the name. Maybe it would help him remember.

But he didn't hear the name. He didn't hear anything else as the dream faded, and Eleven awakened with a jolt of alertness.

Eleven's eyes flew open, and he heard his breathing exit his mouth in stuttering gasps.

Nico was looking for him. Nico knew who he was, where he came from. He knew Eleven's past before The Lab.

As of now, Eleven has more questions than answers, but he has a feeling that the answers he needs lie with Nico.

Eleven jumped as the pencil pierced the paper, punching a hole through the thin material.

Mike had just finished the explanation about the flea and the acrobat, the one Mr. Clarke had given them. About how the acrobat can only go back and forth on a line, but the flea can go back and forth and under it… but to get to another dimension, you'd have to punch a hole in our universe, form a gate.

Eleven thought it was a good analogy, but even if Eleven didn't understand the Upside Down or the concept of other dimensions entirely, he knew it was much more complicated than that. Mr. Clarke was spot on about one thing, though: it would take a lot of energy to open a gate like that, an impossible amount of energy.

Unfortunately, Eleven was quite good at doing the impossible, which included summoning impossible amounts of energy and opening a gate to a potentially (aw, screw potentially. Definitely) dangerous dimension simply because he had impossible (or not so impossible) powers that can be dangerous and helpful and also mean that Eleven had to be a human science experiment and has to constantly run for his life now.

Aren't I lucky? Eleven thought before swallowing a laugh. Oh, hey look, I've mastered the art of sarcasm. What an accomplishment.

"Do you know where The Gate is?" Lucas asked Eleven.

Eleven hesitated.

Friends tell the truth. They don't lie to each other. Mike's words echoed in his ears.

But friends also keep each other safe.

Eleven shook his head.

Lucas cursed before glancing up as Dustin began to wildly pace, almost like a caged animal (and trust me, Eleven knows what that feels like).

"What are you doing?" Mike asked, puzzled.

"I need to see your compasses!" he demanded. "All of your compasses! Right now!"

The two other boys dumped all of their compasses onto the card table, and Eleven was mildly surprised by how many compasses they had. Three boys and eight compasses on the table.

"So a compass is supposed to point north, right?" Dustin asked.

His friends nodded.

"Yeah…" Lucas muttered, obviously not knowing where his friend was going with this.

"That's not true north," Dustin stated.

Eleven's eyes widened as he realized what Dustin was getting at, and it took all of his will power not to jump up and melt the compasses before Dustin could continue.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked.

"Are you two really this dense?" Dustin questioned. "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west," he pointed out before gesturing straight ahead of him, "which means that's true north."

"So the compasses are broken," Mike said.

"Do you even know how a compass works? It doesn't have a battery pack because it doesn't need one; the needle is automatically drawn to the magnetic field of the North Pole. But during class a few weeks ago, Mr. Clarke mentioned that the direction can be changed by a really powerful magnet. And today, he said that the gate would have so much power-"

"It would disrupt the electromagnetic field," Mike realized.

Dustin nodded. "Which means that there is a good chance, the gate is that way," he added, pointing in the direction the compass's needles were drawn to.

Eleven had been screwing up their compasses for hours and was growing increasingly tired as they reached a junk yard.

Eleven wiped his nose and jumped as Lucas kicked a sheet of metal.

"We've been wandering around for hours, and we're just going in circles," he growled.

"I don't understand," Dustin mumbled, staring at his compass.

"Maybe the gate moved," Mike suggested.

"I don't think so," Dustin answered. "Maybe there's a stronger magnet nearby. With all the weird stuff going on lately, I wouldn't be surprised."

"It's not a magnet," Lucas murmured, his eyes focused solely on Eleven. "He's been acting weirder than usual ever since we got back from Will's funeral. And his nose is bleeding. He's been using his powers to screw with our compasses!"

"That's not true. Right, Evan?" Mike demanded.

Eleven swallowed. "I'm sorry, Mike, but it isn't safe. The gate… if you went there, you'd die before you could save Will. It's too dangerous."

"Why didn't you just tell us that?" Dustin asked. "We could've found another way."

Eleven didn't answer because honestly… he didn't know. He'd panicked and chosen to lie instead of tell the truth, and he felt awful about it, but protecting his friends mattered more than telling them the truth. If they knew the truth… everything would go wonky, and they'd be in danger. The less they knew, the better, but Eleven couldn't exactly explain that to them without raising their eyebrows. More than he already had, of course.

"Yeah, why did you lie to us?" Lucas snarled. "Why don't you want us to save Will?"

"Leave him alone," Mike told Lucas.

"Mike, think about it: we've been chasing some monster, but did you ever stop to think that maybe he's the monster?" Lucas shouted.

"I said leave him alone!" Mike yelled before attacking Lucas. The two boys began to wrestle, punching and hitting and kicking while Dustin yelled for them to stop.

Eleven stumbled back as images flashing before his eyes.

Adults hitting him, beating him with belts, throwing him into walls and furniture, breaking his bones, and hurting him until he couldn't breathe.

The angry look in sea green eyes, and Eleven was sure the guy was going to attack him.

Fighting with teenage boys in an alley and lying on the ground, beaten and broken, as they took his money and walked off laughing.

Fighting monsters, the sounds of battle raging around him.

"Stop! STOP!" Eleven yelled before letting loose one long scream. Flames rolled off of his hands, flying into Lucas's face as the boy threw up his hands to protect himself. The flames died to reveal Lucas sobbing in pain on the ground, cradling his arms and hands, which were covered in burns. They could've been worse, but the sight of the burned flesh was almost enough to make Eleven lose his breakfast.

"LUCAS!" Mike shouted as Dustin frantically rifling through his backpack and pulling out a first aid kit. Mike turned to look at Eleven, who hadn't even been this horrified at his powers and what they could do when he opened the gate.

"What is wrong with you?" Mike yelled. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Mike turned back to Lucas, and Eleven took the opportunity to run. He ran until his legs were aching and there was a stitch in his side, and he literally couldn't run anymore as he collapsed to the forest floor.

Eleven glanced up and found himself staring at a drain pipe… the same drain pipe he'd crawled through to escape The Lab. Eleven lifted his head and stared at the tall fence directly in front of him.

"Why don't you want us to save Will?"

He did want to save Will. In fact, maybe it was his connection to the Upside Down and everything in it, but he felt like he knew Will without ever having met him. Will almost felt like a friend to Eleven, even if they hadn't met. He wanted to save Will. He just didn't want Mike, Lucas, or Dustin to get killed doing it.

"But did you ever stop to think that maybe he's the monster?"

He was the monster. He knew that. He was too dangerous to be around Mike or Lucas or Dustin or anyone.

"If I never hear from him again, it'll be too soon."

Evidently, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin weren't the only ones that hated him.

"And if he is dead… good riddance."

If Mike, Lucas, Dustin, or Will died, there would be funerals (there already had been a funeral for Will) and mourning and school assemblies and months of sadness for their friends and families. If Eleven died, no one would mourn him. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin hated him now. The people from his dreams and the black plane and the radio… most of them believed he was already dead. Except for Nico, but Eleven didn't even know who Nico was, not really. Eleven didn't matter to anyone. He would die and chances are, no one would even notice he was gone.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Will mattered to Mike, and both Mike and Will mattered to Eleven. Eleven was being hunted like a wild animal by the Bad Men and now weird monsters. He'd probably die anyway or end up back in The Lab, and Eleven would rather die than go back to that horrible place.

If he was going to die soon- one way or another- he might as well make sure Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin didn't die, too.

Eleven lowered himself to the leaf covered ground, staring at the gaping mouth of the drain pipe.

Then… he began to crawl.

I love feedback (but keep it kind or constructive criticism because any flames will be ignored and reported if necessary), so please tell me what you thought in the form of a review or a PM!

Next chapter is where this story really starts to diverge from the original storyline/plot of Stranger Things and starts to take its own path.

Thank you all for reading! Goodbye, everyone!